Residents of Sugar Island, Michigan, have been dealing with an ongoing problem of debris, including trash, sewage, and high levels of e-coli, on their beaches. For years, they have argued that sewage from Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario was the source of their problem. While two lawsuits against the Sault PUC have been settled out of court, the sewage challenges endure.

What is currently happening?

"There is much incorrect information circulating about this issue," said Don Elliott, director of Engineering Services, for the City of Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, when contacted for information. "Thank you for the opportunity to provide you with information. By contrast, the Soo Evening News never calls the City for any input into their articles," Elliott said.

When asked if the Soo Evening News had contacted Ontario's Ministry of Environment, supervisor Trisha Westman said, "We were definitely not contacted."

An article from the Soo Evening News, posted May 24, 2012, entitled Contamination continues, (http://www.sooeveningnews.com/topstories/x1832943990/Contamination-continues) says that "Canada reported 36+ bypasses into the St. Marys river. The Sault MI plant reported only two in approximately 14 months."

Anthony Garczynski, a lawyer who represented a group of Sugar Island citizens in their case against the Sault Ontario PUC said, "When looking at the number of overflows that the East end plant had compared to the U.S. side, how many year to year, the numbers were almost 50 to 1."

Elliot countered, "Keeping score of 'our by-passes versus theirs' is not something that interests me. You would have to add up overflows, bypasses, and the combined sewer overflow volumes on the MI side to get the full picture. Many of our by-passes are very small amounts, and they are inconsequential as you will see below. We have toured their facilities and they have toured ours. Soo MI staff operates their system in a responsible manner, as does Sault ON."

When asked if the numbers quoted above were accurate, Elliot said, "In 2011 we had 30 secondary by-passes at the East Plant, and 18 overflows from other sources. In 2010 we had 15 secondary bypasses at the East Plant, and 11 overflows from other sources. Secondary by-passes were more frequent in 2011 due to a weir issue that we have since corrected."

Westman said "Our systems are different; the actual concept of the plant is different. They have combined sewers. You can't really compare [the MI sewage treatment and the Canadian]. When the plant does have a bypass, a lot of people are contacted; it never goes unreported. They report to the Ministry, to the Chippewa County Health Department, Algoma Public Health, Sault Tribes, and more. They are being transparent. When a bypass is initiated, they estimate the volume, and after they send the exact numbers. A bypass event is not raw sewage; it's disinfected. It's missed some of the earlier stages. If the plant is running correctly, there wouldn't be any solids; it's impossible to bypass the screen."

Michigan lawyer Garczynski said he believes the main problem concerns the pumping stations, and that they dump raw sewage into the river. Elliott was asked if this was true. "No, it's not true in my view. Pumping Station overflows are infrequent, as are the gravity overflows from overflow points in the system. If the main problem to be solved is beach closures due to bacteria, pumping stations are only one source. In addition to treatment plants, pumping stations and points of overflows from both cities, other sources of bacteria include storm sewers, urban wildlife, pet excrement, agricultural land, failed septic systems, and other communal sewage systems. If pumping stations were the main problem, why do both Health departments routinely have beach closures on both sides of the river, UPSTREAM of the pumping stations and treatment plants?"

A good question, and one that cannot be answered in the scope of this report. However, the Algoma Public Health website (http://www.algomapublichealth.com/default.aspx?l=,1,2,7,25,1229) posted warnings for six area beaches on July 25th, including Pointe Des Chenes, Harmony, Haviland, and Lower Island Lake.

According to Soo Evening News article, Contamination continues, (http://www.sooeveningnews.com/topstories/x1832943990/Contamination-continues) "The MSC [Monitoring Solutions Committee] reported that a Jan. 2012 visit to the Sault, Ont. East End SewageTreatment Plant, brought to light a significant plant operation, previously not reported, that affects how the city's process really works. There are five pumping stations around the city through which storm water and sewage is pumped. Much of it never reaches the plant, according to MSC. The flow from these stations is controlled by Public Utilities Commission (PUC) at the EESTP [East End Sewage Treatment Plant]. The plant can, at all times, control the amount it receives under all storm conditions and the rest is pumped through outfalls into the St. Mary's River.

"In effect, what they are actually controlling is the efficiency of the plant," said MSC member Welch."

Elliot responded to this statement, as follows: "The MSC consists of Messrs. Welch, Schrader, and Dubay. None of them has toured the plant. The January tour consisted of a representative of LSSU [Lake Superior State University] and a representative from the Sault Tribe,"

Regarding the contents of Bellevue Park overflow, Elliot said, "Less than one half of one per cent of the flow doesn't reach the plant, and that flow is highly diluted."

As the above quote in the Soo Evening News article, Contamination continues, reported, "The flow from these stations is controlled by the [PUC and the East End Plant]. The plant can, at all times, control the amount it receives under all storm conditions, and the rest is pumped through outfalls into the St. Mary's River."

Elliot said, "With the greatest respect to my friends on Sugar Island, they are not familiar with our system. That is why they need the tour. The PUC and the City work towards, 1) retention of excess flows at Bellevue Park overflow tank, then, 2) by-passing at the plant so that there is at least partial treatment, and then, 3) overflow if necessary."

To the line (taken from above, in the report, Contamination continues), "'In effect, what they are actually controlling is the efficiency of the plant,' said MSC member Welch," Elliot responded, "The implication is that we intentionally make the plant look good, by overflowing upstream. That is not true."

The MOE monitors sewage treatment plants in Ontario, including the Sault plant. Westman said, "Don Elliott is very determined that the correct information is told. We work closely with the Don, and we are very happy with the work the City does. They've shown nothing but respect for the regulations. They've had an open door policy with the Ministry, which has made tackling this issue easier. They are on an inspection schedule; we contact them regularly. This year we're inspecting because they're installing some new equipment. Since 2007, we've been there three or four times, at least. We would respond to instances if they reported system upsets, or if there were public complaints about debris or odor. The East end plant was inspected in 2007/2008/20099 and they passed with no exceedances among other things (there's a lot more that goes into an inspection). We have another inspection planned for this year, sometime in the fall."

There were two lawsuits filed by residents of Sugar Island against the Sault Ontario PUC, but they were satisfactorily resolved, according to lawyer Anthony Garczynski. "There is no pending lawsuit, but residents continue to have problems with things like food wrappers, condoms, and our attention is largely on the pumping stations, that when distressed will discharge into the river," Garczynski said.

Wayne Welch, a summer resident on Sugar Island, and member of the MSC did not want to comment until after he and his group toured the sewage plant in Sault Ontario, beyond saying, "We're not looking at this from a standpoint of 'who struck John;' we just want to resolve the issue. We're trying to work this out together without stirring up animosity. "